I will not even get into how rude Jack Schmindling was in dealing with me when I received my hopper damaged and he refused to take ownership of the problem to where he actually wrote me in email "Go take your meds, hon". Not joking at all!
He ended up not even sending a shipping label to take it back, and I got my refund after I challenged the charge as he would not mail me replacements parts as his warranty promises. My brother came up from CA and saw the mill himself.

***READ IT ALL IF YOU WANT GOOD DETAILS ABOUT THE POOR QUALITY!!!***

My brother has worked in engineering and is a Construction Manager in industrial
construction in power plants, modifications and refineries and controls bidding for all
these types of jobs. He has done everything from welding, design and construction in all
metals, woods, etc, and noticed immediately the complete hack job this mill was.

This is his review of the MALTMILL:

Regarding Jack Schmidling Productions "MALT MILL":

I would not recommend this product for use in milling grain or anything else. This
product is a perfect example of the internet market spoilers who ruin it for us all. It
is one thing to cut a few corners to keep production costs and low, and quite another to
go out of your way build something that cannot last any reasonable length of time. Below
is a detailed description of what you will actually get should you purchase one of these
gems.

The basic design consists of two 1 3/8" carbon steel rollers that have been knurled
to a fine texture similar to the handle of a ratchet or torque wrench. These rollers are
spaced 1/16" apart and ride in copper bearings on short 3/8" carbon steel
shafts. Two aluminum blocks that measure 1/2" x 3" x 3 1/4" are drilled
to hold the bearings and make up the sides of the mill section. One of the 3/8"
shafts is extended and has a flat spot ground on it to accept an aluminum and wood
handled crank. the other two sides are made of 1/8" thick Masonite (thin material on
the back of cheap furniture) attached with 2 cad plated Phillips head screws. The hand
crank turns one roller with a direct drive and the other turns because a 1/16"
o-ring around the secondary roller contacts the drive roller. The base and hopper are
made of Masonite and MDF board, also unfinished with minimal fasteners.

• The carbon steel rollers will rust very quickly, even though they appear to be
slightly dirty with oil from the knurling process. Stainless steel would be the best
choice here.
• The aluminum blocks have not been finished and still bear the pencil marks from the
mill. A cosmetic thing, and more of a pride in craftsmanship issue that could have been
easily been taken care of.
• The choice of unsealed Masonite for the sides is one step above cardboard. The cost
of this at Home Depot is $6.68 for 4 x 8 ft. This should be at least plastic, however
aluminum to match the ends would have been the best. It is only held on by two cap
screws, one on each end. Counter sunk screws would look better, but the material is not
thick enough. As it is, it is coming loose as you would expect it to do before
you receive it.
• All the screws are inexpensive, cadmium plated, and will eventually rust if exposed to
water, and given this is a coastal area, humidity could easily cause corrosion.
• The base is made of 1/2" MDF board unfinished with three rubber bumpers on the
underside to keep it centered on a 5 gallon bucket while milling. The unfinished MDF
will dissipate in time when exposed to moisture as it is basically a ground sawdust
material pressed together with glue. It should be made of something finished or another
material that would hold up to the elements better.
• The hopper section should not have been made of Masonite and MDF board and unfinished
for reasons mentioned above, and also appears to be a prototype of a considered design
rather than a finished product. There are scraps of plastic inside to direct the grain
and keep fingers out, but the whole thing looks like it was made from materials lying
around rather than planned. I would recommend removing the hopper and starting over.
This is easily done as there are only two screws barely keeping it attached.
The plastic directs the grain to a 4 in. window, so what is the point of the rest of the
rollers as the grain cannot disperse among the length of the rollers. perhaps to keep it
from the o-ring?
• The drive system is the worst part of design in that the o-ring will fail and is
susceptible to grain jamming in the same area. A gear drive is the common design here so
both rollers will have sufficient torque to actually "mill" the grain. Mr.
Schmidling says the o-ring, should it fall off, is not necessary. The mill will work
without it. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Sounds like sour grapes to me for something UPS did. Why don't you vent your BS to UPS instead of Schmidling. I would not put up with you as a unreasonable customer either, but at least he did.

Posting vents like this do nothing but show everyone what an unreasonable person you are, especially as Christmas. I hope the folks at Barley Crusher & Monster Mill never see your business as they will find out the effort is not worth it.

1 - Barley crusher has an mdf base and carbon steel rollers (still waiting for rust on my BC been in use for 3 years).
2 - The o-ring is not required. The rollers will both roll as the grain is pulled through. Barley crusher uses the same principle.
3 - You'll find most homebrew shops use a JSP mill.
4 - Those are self lubricating brass bushings, not copper.
5 - I think you had a bad experience, but slating someones product when they have issued you a return isn't cool. I think you'll find many happy jsp customers.
6 - You could break down the cost of anything and come to the realization that a person is trying to make a profit. How much do you think a pair of nike running shoes cost to be made in china then sold for $150 here?
7 - Didn't you !@#$ about this 3 weeks ago? Give it up.

I couldn't agree more. Veegs, you've only posted on this board four times, and all four have been to whine about how you think you got hosed. Sorry you had a bad experience, but It happens. Time to forget about it and move on, dude.

I won't waste my time addressing his "engineering analysis" other than to say that after 20 years and over 20,000 mills, we are still the Rolls Royce of the industry.

The only engineering problem we have not solved is UPS proofing the shipment. When you think of the problems of putting a bowling ball in the same box as a carton of eggs, it is obvious that some shipping damage will occur. Solving this problem would cost more in packaging than customers would be willing to spend.

I don't often lose my cool with a customer but this guy could not take yes for an answer. He wanted blood and I have none to spare so we issued a refund and as far as I know, he still has the mill.